The Weaver

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

They say second novels are difficult, and The Weaver certainly lived up to that reputation. Throughout the writing process, I found myself thinking that there should be a support group for people working on their second book – and that I would start one myself if I wasn’t so desperately busy trying to deliver mine.

In the hindsight, and at the risk of sounding slightly melodramatic, I can only describe the experience as feeling like I spent three years in a fictional dark cave of my own making, looking for a way out. Emerging back to daylight was greatly helped by some people offering kind guidance along the way. For this assistance, I would like to thank:

My lately-on-hiatus writing group in the UK – Howard Bowman, Sarah Davies, Patricia Debney, Denny Flowers, Nancy Wilson Fulton, Nancy Gaffield, Janet Montefiore, Jeremy Scott; my agent Elina Ahlbäck; my writing group in Finland – Päivi Haanpää and Marika Riikonen; everyone at my Finnish publishing house Teos, with a special gold star to Jussi Tiihonen; the editorial team at HarperVoyager – especially Natasha Bardon, Emma Coode, Emily Krump and Eleanor Ashfield; my family in Finland; Mari Paavola for the image of creatures enclosed in amber, among other things; and José Casal for teamwork, always.

The Shell Grotto in Margate, United Kingdom, served as an inspiration for the underground sanctuary Eliana discovers on the island, so I would also like to send my thanks back in time to the mystery artists who built its extraordinary seashell mosaics.